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Circaetinae

Subfamily of birds

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All but one of the subfamily are restricted to warmer parts of the Old World: Spilornis and Pithecophaga in south Asia, the others in Africa. The short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus migrates between temperate Eurasia and Africa, as well as being resident in India.

They have hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen eyesight to enable them to spot potential prey from a distance.

Taxonomy

The subfamily Circaetinae was introduced in 1851 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth with Circaetus as the type genus.

The genus level cladogram of the Circaetinae shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae by Therese Catanach and collaborators that was published in 2024.

The following taxonomy is based on the International Ornithological Congress.

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Monotypic taxonTaxonomic group with only one subordinate taxonSpecies descriptionFormal description of a discovered speciesParaphylyType of taxonomic groupIUCN Red ListInventory of the global conservation status of biological speciesSubtropicsGeographic and climate zoneCommon nameName generally used for a taxon, group of taxa or organism(s)